Collective Strategy Condensation: When Envy Splits Societies

Human societies are characterized by three constituent features, besides others. (A) Options, as for jobs and societal positions, differ with respect to their associated monetary and non-monetary payoffs. (B) Competition leads to reduced payoffs when individuals compete for the same option as others. (C) People care about how they are doing relatively to others. The latter trait—the propensity to compare one’s own success with that of others—expresses itself as envy. It is shown that the combination of (A)–(C) leads to spontaneous class stratification. Societies of agents split endogenously into two social classes, an upper and a lower class, when envy becomes relevant. A comprehensive analysis of the Nash equilibria characterizing a basic reference game is presented. Class separation is due to the condensation of the strategies of lower-class agents, which play an identical mixed strategy. Upper-class agents do not condense, following individualist pure strategies. The model and results are size-consistent, holding for arbitrary large numbers of agents and options. Analytic results are confirmed by extensive numerical simulations. An analogy to interacting confined classical particles is discussed.     

Academic maturity of students in an extended programme in mathematics

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the students who are registered in the University of Pretoria’s academic development programme, named the Four-year Programme (FYP). The programme was introduced as a gateway for students who are underprepared but have the potential to succeed and then continue their studies into the mainstream science programmes. Our research focuses on measuring the change in the academic maturity of these students. In the theoretical framework that we developed, academic maturity is subdivided into two components namely non-subject based maturity and subject based maturity (mathematical maturity). This paper focuses on measuring non-subject based academic maturity. The survey used for this purpose is called the Student Academic Readiness Survey (STARS), taken at the beginning of the year and after the first semester respectively. The results of the surveys are compared to measure the change in students’ views. Results show that in all constructs there is a surprising decline in students’ perceptions regarding their own abilities over the first semester at university. We use the Dunning–Kruger effect to explain this unexpected decline, in that students seem to develop a more realistic view of their own maturity, which in itself can be seen as a growth in academic maturity.     

基于园区网络的主动安全模型设计与研究

从现行典型园区网络安全设计方案入手，结合其在安全防范解决方案上存在的问题，提出了一种网络主动安全模型；在全局网络安全认识的基础上．阐述了模型组成部件的功能定义和网络主动安全实现流程；采用统一网络入口认证、网络知识发现及资源有效控制、沟通等手段，解决了现行网络安全设计中存在的恶意攻击行为源头定位困难，以及信息安全司法取证不准、网络资源安全被动防护、网络灾难快速反映能力差等问题．实验结果表明，该设计方案具有较好的可行性和实用性．     

On a compromise social choice correspondence

This paper analyzes the compromise social choice correspondence derived from the τ-value of digraph games. Monotonicity of this correspondence is shown. A connection between several properties of social choice correspondences based on game theoretical solutions and game theoretical properties of the underlying solutions is given. Applications to several game theoretic solutions are provided.     

社会经济管理系统和谐性模型的构建与分析

本文从非线性自然观的视野。引用与分析了社会经济系统功能模型与效应模型。构建了系统和谐状态模型与和谐状态可信度模型，形象地说明了企业系统的和谐既是一个随机不确定状态。又是企业和谐力量与不和谐力量相互抗争干涉的过程。依据协同学原理提出了企业系统和谐演进的机制，表明企业系统的和谐发展是子系统和谐协同的过程。即子系统竞争合作的过程。文中所构建的模型，从理论上清晰地说明了企业系统和谐有序运行的机理，为如何构建和谐企业。提供了建设性的思考。     

创业投资与金融体系关系的实证研究

本文实证研究了创业投资产业与金融体系的内在关系,并对目前我国以银行为中心的金融体系下发展创业投资产业提出了一些建议.     

我国封闭式投资基金业绩评价实证研究

随着我国基金行业超常发展,恰当的分析和评价基金业绩已越来越重要。本文根据CAPM的基本原理,利用国外先进的基金业绩评价方法对我国封闭式基金的综合业绩进行实证研究。研究结果表明:总体来看,基金获得的市场超额收益显著为负。基金经理不具有证券选择能力,但具有一定的市场择时能力,但这两种能力均不显著。同时,我们还发现不同投资风格的基金经理具有不同的证券选择能力和市场择时能力。     

Compact, reliable asymmetric optical configuration for cost-effective fabrication of multiplex dot matrix hologram in anti-counterfeiting applications

This study presents a compact optical configuration that can generate a multiplex dot-matrix hologram with complex interlaced images for anti-counterfeiting applications on valuable paper. Varying the orientation of the interference plane can enable the multiplex hologram to be recorded without changing the interference angle of two laser beams. With its simple asymmetric optical setup, a multiplex hologram with many interlaced images can be efficiently fabricated, increasing the cost of imitation. Experimental details of the asymmetric optical setup are also described.     

Dynamic Model of R&D,Spillovers, and Efficiency of Bertrand and Cournot Equilibria

Using an infinite-horizon two-player differential game, we derive and compare Bertrand and Cournot equilibria for a differentiated duopoly engaging in the process of R&D competition. The main findings of this study are as follows. First, Bertrand competition is more efficient if either R&D productivity is low or products are very different. Second, Cournot competition is more efficient provided that R&D productivity is high, products are close substitutes, and spillovers are not close to zero. This last result is different from what has been obtained in the literature. Hence, this shows that considering a dynamic model and more general investment costs does have an impact on the efficiency results.     

A model of fads,fashions, and group formation

I develop a model of consumer behavior where agents purchase goods in order to signify personal characteristics. Agents purchase goods in order to imitate agents similar to them and agents they want to emulate. Depending on parameter values of consumer preferences the model generates stable groups, fads, and fashion cycles, or a mixture of both. The model is unique to the economic literature on fads in that the extinction of fads occurs endogenously in the model. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 9: 51–61, 2004